My third year as a blogger is complete and I have had some ups and downs this year.

My achievements include:

• I am now a regular guest on a Podcast which is great fun and it would seem a much more popular medium than the written word. I have attempted to collate all of my Podcast appearances on the Podcast Appearances page but I may have missed some. Please check out the At The Flicks  podcast if you want to follow them or find them on all the usual podcast apps.
• I am now apparently prolific enough to be offered press screeners to films, albeit lower budget films with smaller distribution. But that does mean I get to watch some really unique films. I have posted reviews for Woodstock or Bust and Violence Voyager this year thanks to this opportunity. I have a couple more lined up already and only wish I had more time to do it justice.
• In the early part of the year I completed two more of my long form Director retrospectives for The Coen Brothers and Quentin Tarantino. I really enjoy doing these although the numbers reflect that perhaps I enjoy them more than my readership! You can find all of my features here or listen to me talk about both of these at the following links –  Coen Podcast and Quentin Tarantino Podcast

I have met with some challenges this year though. Firstly I have found myself with limited time, especially in the second half of the year to really devote too much attention to doing anything other than my normal reviews. I really wanted to do a retrospective on Martin Scorsese in time for The Irishman but have to admit to having not even started! Secondly I have had a bit of a lull in numbers of people going to my site which has impacted my motivation somewhat. I do not own the domain so there is no financial implications to anyone other than WordPress who host my site but I must admit that what started out as something just for me has turned into something of a point of pride.

If you hang around all the way to the end of this post I have decided to put in some of my most anticipated films of next year this time around in addition to my regular lists.

The Stats

My film viewing this year was as follows:

• 117 visits to the cinema
• 14 films via streaming services
• 124 reviews posted to the site

Interestingly that is pretty much exactly the same as last year in terms of new films.

People have asked me what my most popular reviews are, so at the time of writing this these are my most read reviews from 2019:

1. Avengers: Endgame
2. Cats
3. Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
4. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
5. Captain Marvel

What I think is clear is that the biggest films result in my highest readership and everyone wanted to read about how bad Cats was! I am sure that Cats and Star Wars both have the legs to get to the top two spots.

The Year of Horror

Last year I said it was the year of Netflix and whilst it very much seems like it is again thanks to The Irishman and Marriage Story it would be boring to go back over that subject. For me the big deal this year is the resurgence of the horror movie. Whilst some of that is down to Stephen King adaptations now actually being pretty darn good it is also great to see that the likes of Ari Aster (Hereditary and Midsommar) and Jordan Peele (Get Out and Us) being new and exciting voices in the genre and not making it just about jump scares.

My End of Year Lists

Completely honestly I felt this year was a little underwhelming for film in comparison to previous years. That is not to say I struggled to find 20 films to have in my top 20, just that I found it easier to leave films out when I was squeezing films in to the list. This year I am going to add a Horror list and reduce my Superhero list for reasons I will explain below. Oh and as far as television goes, there is still so much great stuff out there but my recommendation this year would be Watchmen.

Best Films of the Year 

1. Ad Astra I loved this film! This is a grandiose science fiction drama about a father/son relationship and our place in the universe that has echoes of Apocalypse Now and 2001: A Space Odyssey and it features a phenomenal performance from Brad Pitt. It has been pointed out to me and I have since researched the fact that the science element of this film has some jarring flaws (to put it politely), but frankly that is not what this film is about for me. The backdrop is purely there to juxtapose a huge perilous physical journey against the mental challenges that Pitt’s character experiences.
2. The Irishman I was so happy that I managed to see this ‘Netflix’ film at the cinema as it is such a powerful gangster epic from the master of the genre that it seemed apt. To see De Niro back to his best was also a delight for me, I loved his films growing up and this year is the best he has been for quite some time.
3. Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Tarantino doing what he does best. A film about films and DiCaprio, Pitt and Robbie setting the screen alight with their chemistry and star power.
4. Knives Out Fun! A film that I could sit through with a broad smile on my face and admire the artistry and wit.
5. If Beale Street Could Talk A beautiful and heartbreaking love story that reminded me of Terrence Malick at his best. Also contains a beautiful jazz score. Alas no one seems to have seen it.
6. The Favourite So good that despite it releasing in the first week of January it still sits in my memory. Three fantastic lead performances and very funny.
7. Us My favourite horror film of the year had a unique story and a brilliant two pronged central performance from Lupita Nyong’o
8. Avengers: Endgame The final chapter in a saga that delivered this year. It will be interesting where the Marvel Universe goes from here.
9. Joker It may be wrapped up as a comic book movie but this riff on Scorsese films of the 70’s and 80’s features a brilliant central performance and kept many people enraptured.
10. Hustlers This was a huge surprise and again was an ode to Scorsese. Features a brilliant Fiona Apple musical moment and Jennifer Lopez at her best.
11. Marriage Story Releasing on Netflix at the end of the year this is a powerful drama about a marriage coming apart featuring one of the most powerful scenes of the year.
12. Little Women (2019) Opening on Boxing Day in the UK this was a big surprise to me. A film that makes the source material vibrant and vital.
13. Doctor Sleep A brilliant Stephen King adaptation featuring an even better Rebecca Ferguson as the villain.
14. It: Chapter Two Another brilliant Stephen King adaptation that whilst not living up to the first chapter did a great job at wrapping up the story.
15. Booksmart Hands down the best comedy of the year.
16. Long Shot Another joyful comedy that has Charlize Theron proving she is one of the most versatile actresses around.
17. Midsommar Ari Aster proving Hereditary was no fluke. A deeply disturbing horror film.
18. Le Mans ‘66 The sort of old school Hollywood Biopic that when done well can really keep you on the edge of your seat.
19. Pain and Glory A brilliant layered drama about a director trying to rediscover his life.
20. Wild Rose Jessie Buckley gives a stirring performance as a single mother dreaming of being a country music star.

Best Films not from this Year 

Whilst forcing myself to include only films with a UK release date of 2019 in my lists I felt I could not move forward without mentioning these stunning films.

Available on Netflix right now are:

Blue Jay A beautiful two hander shot in crisp black and white.

Hearts Beat Loud One of the best films about music you could wish to see.

Coming to a cinema near you in January:

Jojo Rabbit Opening on New Years Day is this beautiful and hilarious satire from the man who brought us Thor: Ragnarok.

Queen and Slim Coming at the end of January is this unmissable road trip drama.

A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood Tom Hanks delivers a terrific performance as the nicest man on US television.

Worst Films of the Year

1. Cats
2. Fisherman’s Friends
3. Ma
4. Child’s Play (2019)
5. Rambo: Last Blood

I read that it is bad form to talk about what I think are the worst films I have seen this year. I know that no one sets out to make a bad film and a lot of craft goes into any movie, but given that one of my most read reviews is Cats I figure it is in the public interest!

Comic Book Films Ranked 

1. Avengers: Endgame
2. Joker
3. Captain Marvel
4. Spider-Man: Far From Home
5. Shazam!

Comic book films seemed to take a fall this year. Numbers One and Two on this list reach pretty great heights, whilst the other three are all good fun. But everything after that barely made a dent in my consciousness.

Horror Films Ranked 

1. Us
2. Doctor Sleep
3. It: Chapter Two
4. Midsommar
5. Ready Or Not

The first four of these made my top twenty of the year so let it just draw your attention to the truly brilliant film in the number five spot. The sort of horror comedy that probably deserves a larger audience than just horror aficionados.

 

Biggest Disappointments

1. Finales – Game of Thrones, Star Wars and Avengers all had their big finales this year and only one really stuck the landing. Don’t get me wrong, all were entertaining enough, but it seemed like creative decisions hampered the first two of those big series.
2. Comic Book Movies – Aside from Avengers and Joker (which I have misgivings about – see my review for those) it was a poor show for comic book movies this year. Although not of course in the Box Office. Has the bubble burst?
3. Disney Remakes – I am struggling to find the love for these films. Aladdin was pretty good, The Lion King seemed to lack soul despite its technical brilliance and Dumbo was visually great thanks to Tim Burton but pretty dull. I will maintain that Beauty and the Beast is easily the best of all of these remakes and I would like it a lot if Disney could up their game a little next year for Mulan.

Most Anticipated of 2020

• Disney Plus – I am genuinely excited to be paying another subscription when Spring comes around. With one location for Disney, Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel films and the genuinely exciting Star Wars and Marvel television series announced I am hoping for exciting things.
• The French Dispatch – Wes Anderson’s new film! I should not need to say more.
• Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson film. This is scheduled for 2020 and P.T. Anderson is the genius behind Magnolia, Boogie Nights, The Master, There Will Be Blood and Phantom Thread.
• Dune – Denis Villeneuve, the man who brought us Blade Runner 2049, Arrival and Sicario has put together a phenomenal cast for the new adaptation of the famous novel.
• Bond – No Time To Die will be Daniel Craig’s last turn as the super spy.
• Top Gun Maverick – Tom Cruise returns as Maverick and damn that trailer makes it look like a lot of fun.
• Tenet – Christopher Nolan has not made a bad film and he looks to be gracing us with another mind bending action thriller this summer
• The Lighthouse – I have been wanting to watch this art house black and white horror film for months after hearing about it on the film festival circuit. Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe star.
• Parasite – Bong Joon Ho, the man behind Okja has been finding his film at the top of many “best of 2019” lists for those lucky enough to have seen it. Unfortunately for us Brits it is not set for release until February.
• Comic Book Films – Wonder Woman 1984, The Eternals, Black Widow, Birds of Prey and Morbius are all set to grace our screens next year.

Thanks for making it this far! I hope you have enjoyed my musings on 2019 and I hope you will join me for more in 2020.